“Although you did get picked due to Dave’s recommendation… Is it really possible?”
“Of course.”
“…Hmm.”
The project manager, Brad, who was in charge of the team which Dave belonged to, looked at Dave while locking his fingers.
There was no room for doubt about Dave’s ability. However, there were a few questions left on this person called YongHo, who Dave recommended.
Although he did win the NetFlax Prize, when he looked into it, he was only registered as a team member. He also won the runner-up prize in the Koogle’s Design Award due to cooperating with a designer.
Although he agreed to a certain point that YongHo’s personal ability was sufficient, he questioned if he really had to select a person who they couldn’t even communicate with.
“He will adapt soon and become a big help to the company.”
With his lacking language ability, he couldn’t even communicate with his colleagues well.
Moreover, from what he gathered, he even heard that it was doubtful as to whether he even won the NetFlax Prize or not.
He couldn’t even express an algorithm in a mathematical formula, and when they urged him to, he always dodged the topic.
He had only alleviated such rumors by writing the code on the whiteboard.
“As Dave’s the one to recommend you, I will keep watch for a little longer. However, as you know, we can’t do it for too long. We picked an experience person, who can work straight away, and not a newbie, who wants to learn from this place.”
“Yes……”
At the manager’s words, Dave’s expression became sullen. This happened a few days ago.
Dave was also shocked at YongHo’s bomb sentence. As he didn’t speak a lot anyway, YongHo’s statement was even more shocking.
“YongHo, what do you mean by that so suddenly?”
Perhaps the tutoring until now was effective as YongHo, despite not fully fluent, was at a level he could express his intention while stuttering.
“As I look at it, currently, our system’s RMSE value was around 0.96.”
“So?”
“Supposing that there’s nearly no effect when the recommendation system is operating under 0.8, we can say that the value of 0.05 is in charge of 10% of sales.”
YongHo spoke while asking a few words to Jessie from time to time. Just the fact that he didn’t require Jessie to translate his entire sentence, it could be considered a huge development.
The people inside the conference room were also focusing on his contents rather than his stuttering speech.
“I think that what you’re requiring of me is to play a role in in increasing the RMSE value and increase the sales. In conclusion, I have spoken since if I could increase it by 0.1, around 10% would increase.”
Dave, who was fussing around next to him, also quietly nodded his head. He had thought that there was reason to YongHo’s words. This seemed to be the same with other people inside the conference room.
They were all nodding their heads quietly. Dave, who was absorbed in thinking for a moment, looked at YongHo.
“But, YongHo, will it be possible? This is something even we pulled out from.”
“Of course. You also know how much percentage enhancement I made in the NetFlax Prize.”
Seeing YongHo’s confident expression, Dave also relaxed. Of course Dave believed in YongHo. He knew that although YongHo was registered as a team member in the NetFlax Prize, that YongHo was the actual leader.
The rain clouds gathering in Dave’s heart also seemed to be lessening a bit.
RMSE Score 0.961
This was the performance that the company’s recommendation system had. The value that YongHo wanted to change to wa 1.061.
After his shocking announcement, YongHo couldn’t get into work due to the sharp gazes on the back of his head. A few team members were watching him how he enhanced the performance in rotation.
And sometimes, they asked questions.
“Why do you do it that way?”
American culture was all about ‘WHY’. Although there were a lot of functions of ‘WHY’, to YongHo, it was only agonizing.
“Oh, this is because… this variable will act as a value used in a later calculation……”
“What I want to know isn’t that but… I want to listen to the algorithm formula that Mr. YongHo is using for the recommendation system.”
“How it works is……”
YongHo couldn’t hide his difficulty. Now, it was difficult for him to use the excuse of not being able to speak English. Every one of his team members knew that he could do a basic level of communication.
Moreover, the thing he was doing was coding.
The fact that he was coding meant that the logic for enhancing the performance of the recommendation algorithm was already complete.
The team member behind YongHo tilted his head as he felt that YongHo was trying to hide the logic.
“I will tell you after I finish this quickly.”
When the team members asked, YongHo could only excuse himself with that he was busy.
A few team members called Dave alone. Dave’s position within the team was solid.
Although he showed childish actions, played around, and was obsessed with toys like a child, that was separate from his ability.
There was another reason why the team members called Dave.
“Dave, isn’t YongHo hiding his work too much? We’re team members… Does he have to be that close-minded? Or is he saying something to you?”
The team members were dissatisfied with one thing.
YongHo’s att.i.tude of not answering even when he was asked.
The first thing done when making a program was the design. During the design, it would be decided how the program will be made. Coding was a process of implementation according to those designs.
And the thing YongHo was doing now was coding. The team members thought that YongHo had already finished with the design.
And so, they had asked how the algorithm worked.
“He didn’t tell me much either. I think you can just think that it’s YongHo’s style.”
Dave didn’t think much about it. Each person had their styles while working, and if YongHo’s style was silently coding, he thought that he would just acknowledge that.
“Even so, at least he could explain to us how it’s implemented, but… he’s does nothing but coding.”
From the man’s face, disappointment could be seen. He knew that each person had their own style.
However, curiosity was curiosity.
The good thing about working with colleagues with high skill was that they could develop themselves by influencing each other while exchanging information.
This was also the reason why YongHo came to America.
“I will try talking to him.”
“I will be thankful if you did that.”
The team members had just as much desire to develop themselves as YongHo. Moreover, YongHo had stepped in, saying that they could solve their problems. They couldn’t help but be curious of the method.
“YongHo!”
Hearing Dave’s bright voice, YongHo gulped. He had ears that could hear and eyes that could see.
YongHo had noticed the strange atmosphere around him. Moreover, the people who annoyed him with questions about the method of enhancing the performance of the recommendation algorithm everyday, weren’t asking him anymore.
“I have something to ask you.”
Dave had even brought Jessie, fearing that YongHo couldn’t understand.
However, although YongHo could do coding, he wasn’t at a level where he could explain in detail.
He could explain the general outline with the things he had learnt until now. However, what the team members wanted wasn’t that. It was the mathematical formulae that was at the basis of the coding, and the detailed explanations about those mathematical formulae.
“H, huh? What is it? Can’t you ask me later? I’m a bit busy right now.”
Although YongHo knew that it wouldn’t work, he tried anyway.
However, it was as he expected.
“I want to know how you are enhancing the performance of the recommendation algorithm.”
“Th, that is…”
“If it’s uncomfortable here, shall we go to the conference room?”
Dave pressured him with his eyes. The excuse of being busy also didn’t work YongHo could only stand up like a cow being dragged to a slaughterhouse.
It wasn’t only Dave who was in the conference room. Dave had messaged that all people who had time should gather in the conference room.
Moreover, what YongHo was doing was the interests of every one of the team members. The majority had gathered after receiving Dave’s message.
‘Oh… Dave, this guy. I didn’t even tell him to……”
YongHo sighed and started writing down code again that filled the entire whiteboard. As he was in the middle of developing, he didn’t write all the code.
The part he wrote on the whiteboard was the part where he set the values necessary to produce a result.
When YongHo wrote down the code for over 30 minutes, there were all kinds of reactions.
People who read while resting their chin on their hands, those who stared at the whiteboard while standing up, and those who nodded with a serious face.
However, it seemed that they all shared one emotion.
A little bit of annoyance.
They were only watching him writing down the code when they should be discussing after listening to his explanation.
“YongHo, how about we bring the computer instead?”
Dave, who couldn’t watch anymore, stepped in. Listening to those words, YongHo replied as if he was waiting for this.
“As expected, it should be better that way, right?”
At YongHo’s words, some of the team members that Dave called, laughed emptily while others licked their lips.
The trust in YongHo was cracking, albeit minutely.
It wasn’t that YongHo didn’t feel the atmosphere inside the conference room. The minute changes in the moods of the employees – YongHo knew very well that he needed a breakthrough.
YongHo, who went back to his desk, brought back a laptop and the doc.u.ments related to the company’s recommendation system.
“Please wait for a moment.”
YongHo connected the beam to the laptop and projected the laptop screen on the whiteboard. It wasn’t just a year or two that he coded without a GUI tool.
YongHo’s coding speed rejected all peers. Moreover, he also had the guidance from the bug window.
YongHo fixed the source as if he was possessed.
The people who rested their chins on their hands and the people who walked around as if bored, all started focusing on the screen that YongHo had projected.
Without minding whether the people’s mood changed or not, YongHo concentrated in editing the source.
‘I should just show them the result.’
The flaw in his explanation about the process would get buried under the perfect results. It was like that until now, and it will be like that in the future.
“YongHo?”
Perhaps worried about YongHo, who was typing as if he was possessed by a ghost, Dave called out to YongHo.
However, YongHo was in a focused state to the point that he couldn’t even hear Dave’s such call.
How much time had pa.s.sed? YongHo, who exhaled his breath, relaxed his body and looked at the monitor.
Now, he had only left the last command.
.jrs-rmse-check.sh
And one line of result appeared on the screen.
RMSE Score 1.0000
The value that the company’s engineers wanted so much was in front of them.
Translator’s notes
Regular Chapter 1/3
Woops, I have no chapters anymore, s.h.i.t. I’m back to translating. Cya on Wednesday
Nice reading~